pointed commentary on current affairs in Jamaica and the Caribbean

Jamaicans who live abroad say it’s not until you live in another country that you really appreciate how lovely this island is. Not me. I don’t need to move thousands of miles away and freeze my a## off to enjoy what’s all around me. Here are just 5 reasons why.

1. Every Saturday morning, the jellyman comes calling. Deliciously fresh coconut water and jelly right at my gate, although I live in the middle of the city. Or as several of my social media friends pointed out, some of us are lucky enough to have the coconuts growing right in our backyards!

2. Gloriously coloured flowers everywhere you turn. Whether you find them in a carefully cultivated garden, or in the form of a random “weed” growing by the roadside, their bright hues are so prevalent it is, actually, very easy to take this feature of Jamaican life for granted.

3. The sea, in all its moods – I felt compelled to stop by White Horses in St. Thomas the other day, just to look at the waves galloping in and snap a quick picture. And then there are our beaches. Sheer bliss! I can never quite understand the delight with which people overseas jump into cold, grey, opaque water, but then, hey, I’m spoiled. Sparkling blue water, (generally) warm, so transparent you can see right down to the sandy, white bottom…that’s a beach!

4. The mountains – majestic, soaring all around us. The UWI Bowl is a great place to really FEEL the presence of our mountains. I climbed to the Blue Mountain Peak once, and will never forget it. It felt like we were on top of the world!

9 thoughts on “On Earth Day – Five Reasons I Love Jamaica”

oh but I could say after 10 years away that the joy of spring is the calling card for anyone living far North…..the awakening of Mother Earth….Robin’s song, the return of the magnificent Canada geese…the cackle of the gulls..blooming tulips…greening grass…the promise of organic lettuce, tomatoes apples and peard picked fresh from the garden….the awe inspiring spectacle of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains while sweating in 25 degree weather.
being away from the constant 28-30 degrees makes us so much cognizant of the changing of the seasons and by far for me Spring is it!!!

The almost constant sunshine is not necessarily a big enough drawing-card… Whenever I travel, I also revel in beautiful sights and landscapes – to be honest just as beautiful as Jamaica and if I am being objective, many places are even more so. For example, the absolutely pristine and stunningly beautiful environment in Australia really takes some beating… But you are writing as a Jamaican, so I understand. It’s home, after all!

my sixth though related to one of your five is the ability to get all kinds of fruits at stop lights or from any handcart vendor… bananas, apples, and my personal favourite sugar cane. And I have to say for people who know how to evade work we are also (thankfully) quite enterprising when we want to be. I see people peddling already peeled fruits… or roasted breadfruits (for the too busy or lazy depending on how you think about it)….. but there is some allure to the cold DJ….

When I was away and it snowed, a couple of friends and I gathered to play (much to the amazement of Europeans who were like oh but it’s just snow). And spring like Judy Mac says was very different (pleasantly so) because in a sense one had never really noticed it in a country which as they say “has no summers or winters” so to speak…..

Playing in the snow – sounds like the email that was going the rounds a few years ago about the Jamaican who moved to foreign climes and spent the first year playing in the snow (like you!) and by year 5 or 10 would start cussing some Jamaican bad wud whenever it started to snow! lol I accept what you all are saying, but personally, I can’t stand cold at all, start shivering in AC, and I’ve done the visiting in snow thing, and it was kinda fine for a week – that’s about my limit. So no, suffering through winter so as to enjoy spring isn’t for me. So I respectfully accept that there are many other beautiful places in the world, but Jamaica mi seh! As I said at the beginning – I don’t need to leave to appreciate it here, plus we have enough rainy days so that I can contrast and appreciate the sunny ones!